~ from email ~

As for your question, in terms of making the decision itself, the Bible teaches us to obey our parents, but only “in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:1). If your parents are not excellent Christians who are full of knowledge and confidence in God, then it is wrong to listen to them when it comes to decisions about faith and life. If they are non-Christians, or if they call themselves Christians but are ignorant or ungodly, then they cannot teach a Christian. You are the one who should teach them, because you would be the voice of God to them. If you want to be in the ministry, you will face much greater problems than your parents. If you cannot even handle your parents, then you are not strong enough for the ministry. You should be able to easily handle a hundred pair of parents combined at the same time. One set of parents is nothing. Build up your inner man to be strong in the Lord, filled with his power and might.

All Christians are in the ministry in a sense, but we are referring to ministry as a vocation, making a living from it. You need only God’s calling and ordination. Respect only the advice of Christians, and Christians who know and believe God’s word. Never trust “Christians” who do not trust God. Never take advice from cessationists. They are the worst religious charlatans, because they have disowned God’s word, but they present themselves as those who are most zealous for God’s word. They cannot offer sound advice, because they have rejected an entire category of possibilities as to how God may interact with you, bless and deliver you, and communicate with you. They have rejected the very nature of God, that is, God himself.

Your greatest enemies in the ministry will likely be “Christians” like these. If God has called and ordained you, then their disagreement means nothing. Feel free to despise them. But if God has not called and ordained you, then you must not enter the ministry even if these people drag you into it. Even those who seem to be Christian parents sometimes hesitate, because they are worried that you will not be able to make a living as a minister. I understand this concern, but if they are godly people, then they should have faith in God and encourage you to have faith as well. Their greater concern should be to help you determine whether God has really called and ordained you.

There are parents who do not want you to enter the ministry not because they worry about you, but because they worry about themselves. They do not want you to embarrass them, or some reason like this. They are not good Christians or good parents. Pay no attention to what they think. There is the false assumption that we should submit to our parents no matter what. This is Confucianism, not Christianity. Much of what comes under Christian “gentleness and respect” is really pagan ethics. Throw it out. You can be polite to them, but if they are wrong, you don’t have to listen to them. Sometimes you must even rebuke them for their own good. Make sure, however, that you indeed know better than they do in those cases. Don’t be hostile just because you disagree, but be as harsh as you need if you are right, and they are wrong and stubborn.

If the parents are a problem because they might withhold financial support for ministry training, then you may try to persuade them. If you cannot, you will either have to go without any schooling or you will have to study something that they approve of. It is their money. Once you are old enough or financially independent enough to leave their authority, you can do whatever you want to do or study whatever you want to study. Some people work a secular job for a time before earning enough to pay for their ministry training. Of course, it is unnecessary to follow the seminary path in the first place. Many people are better off without it, since seminaries tend to destroy faith and life. Intellectualism is not destructive, but the seminary environment is destructive when it promotes unbelief and tradition. This is the case with most seminaries.

Nevertheless, a large part of it depends on the individual. If the seminary promotes unbelief and tradition rather than Christ, as is very likely the case, then train yourself by making it your enemy rather than your teacher. Thus you will grow in knowledge and strength despite the evil that pervades the institution. The seminary ought to keep you safe before it sends you out into the world, but more often than not, the seminary is the world, and in many ways more dangerous than the non-Christian world. So make God your teacher, and the seminary the training ground, by making it the battle ground. The worst mistake you can make is to assume that you are safe in a seminary, sit back and relax, and expect the professors to make a man of God out of you. This kind of thinking will only make you vulnerable to them. As Jesus said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are” (Matthew 23:15).

Faith in God is the most important thing. If you are going to be a minister, you will have to agree with what Jesus said. He said that if you seek first the kingdom of God, then things that come under Mammon (wealth or prosperity) — food, clothing, and shelter — will be added to you as well (Matthew 6:24-34). He said that if you have faith in God, you can command a mountain to be thrown into the sea (Mark 11:23), and whatever you ask for will be given to you (Mark 11:24). He said that if you lay hands on the sick, they will recover (Mark 16:18). He said that if you believe, you will perform the same works that he did, and even greater works (John 14:12). People attempt to minimize the greater works, but they are so obsessed with rejecting the word of God while pretending to defend it, that they forget Jesus first declared that believers will perform the same works that he did. Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead, and he said believers will do the same things. If each Christian performs even the same works that Jesus did, there shall be an endless stream of miracles.

All these things are integral to the gospel – faith, healing, prosperity, and works of miraculous power. However, many religious charlatans preach a different gospel – the seminaries will attack you if you believe what Jesus said – but then they should not be Christians, and still less ministers and theologians. Paul wrote that God will supply all that you need, not according to your need, which is small, but according to God’s glorious riches — according to what he has, which is a lot (Philippians 4:19). If you do not want to be a piece-of-trash preacher or scholar, then accept what the Bible teaches about faith, healing, prosperity, miracles, the Holy Spirit, and so on. A minister is nothing more than a religious con if he does not teach faith in God — the kind of miracle faith that Jesus taught (Matthew 21:21), and the kind of healing faith that James taught (James 5:15). Have faith in God. This must be the beginning of all ministry, because if you are going to teach others about God, this is what you must tell them anyway. You must tell them to have the kind of faith that the Bible talks about. If you preach only traditions and rituals like most ministers, then you are a piece of trash like them. Save us all some trouble and jump into the dumpster yourself.

Mere men should never have the privilege – and the burden – of owning your future in God. If you have faith, it is likely that many of the more educated and respectable “Christians” will come against you. They are the orthodox zealots, and some of the most vicious and unspiritual people in the world. Despise them! Spit on them! Trample them like worms! Do not let them take your future. Do not let them dull your spirit. Take ownership of your life in Christ. Seek counsel from those who possess faith and wisdom –- especially faith –- but in the end you are the one who must decide how to proceed. Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but think soberly according to your measure of faith. And if you indeed have the faith, then you have the warrant to move forward in ministry.